I feel the EXACT same way!

Which reminds me of the time my daughter was about 5- I wasn't homeschooling then but was a stay-at-home-mom- and she got mad at me for something and told me: "I wish Daddy could stay home and YOU would go to work!" :lol: Kids. Gotta love 'em.

Thanks, everyone, for all these recent comments :) I appreciate all the encouragement and support! Lisa, I've found that my family can adapt to eating pretty much what I eat for dinner- I buy leaner beef, we eat a lot more chicken, if your family likes fish, that's good, too. I switched from white rice to brown rice and they got used to it. We eat more veggies, ;ess processed foods, things like that. Potatoes are good for all of us, but I'll use 0 cal butter spray on mine. I might use lower fat ingredients. Mainly with Weight Watchers it's about portion controls, not special foods. I weigh and measure everything before I eat it. Some things we do differently, like the family might use regular bread, and butter, and when the kids were little, they had whole milk, whereas I'd use for me I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray, light bread, and 1% milk (now that the kids are older, they drink 1%, too. But really you don't have to make as many special accommodations as you might think. I do buy myself special low fat treats- and I buy less junk overall for the house. If you decide to give it a shot, I'll be rooting for you :)

I agree that they just will on their own. I don't have a sister anywhere near my age but I can remember feeling totally comfortable getting dressed and undressed (like changing into bathing suits or something) in front of one of my best female friends up until we were about 11. With the onset of puberty around that time, we just sort of naturally developed our own sense of modesty/desire for more privacy.

So, at about 9 AM this morning, I looked at my desk calendar, saw that "tonight's the night," and thought... "ahhh I don't know if I'm going to go to this. We'll see how the day goes." At about noon, I sat down to lunch with my husband and commented to him, "Tonight's that kickboxing class. But I don't know if I'm going to go. It's kind of intimidating to go alone, not knowing what to expect!" My stomach was almost in knots just thinking about it. At about 2:30, I decided I'd better get in the shower and afterward I dressed in sweatpants, teeshirt and a sports bra "just in case." At about 3:30, I threw my hair up in a ponytail, and took a few precautionay/preventative Ibuprofin, again, just in case (you know, 37 year old bones, plus sciatica, plus kickboxing DEFINITELY equals a need for Ibuprofin), and then went to pick up my oldest daughter from volleyball practice, still unsure as to whether I was going to go. At a few minutes to 4, while I waited for said oldest daughter to come out of the building, I told my ten year old daughter how I was feeling. That I MIGHT go to this class tonight, but that I wasn't sure because I was a little nervous to go for the first time by myself. She had some good advice for me: "You should go! It's good to try new things! Plus, it's good exercise!" ("Yeah! And exercise makes you strong!" my almost five year old piped in). My daughter continued, "If you get nervous, just close your eyes and count to ten." ("And take a deep breath!" my almost five year old added helpfully). My daughter continued, "And you can pretend nobody else is in the room. Or picture them in their underwear!" ("Yeah!" my almost five year old agreed). At 4:20, we got back home. I had the kids use the bathroom, and gave them all a snack, just in case they were to end up having a later dinner. At 4:39 PM, I started watching the clock. I'd have to leave about 4:45-ish if I was going to go, so I could get the kids settled into their childcare rooms and then find the kickboxing class instructor so I could get a feel for her and make sure she knew that I was a total novice at this and to make sure she thought it was going to be a suitable class for me. At 4:40, my stomach started feeling kind of knotted up again. At 4:42, I sighed, and told the kids to put their shoes back on. At 4:45, I had the kids put on their sweatjackets, grabbed a water bottle, told myself firmly "Oh, just go!"... ...and I went. And I took the class. And I didn't die from it. (Although a few times I came close). And while most of the women WERE already in great shape- a couple of them weren't. And the instructor was nice, and it was a small class of only like 9 women. And I didn't do so badly keeping up with (most of) the moves. And I'm glad I went. :)

<whistles innocently and doesn't volunteer the fact that today she gave her kids canned chicken soup and toasted cheese sandwiches for lunch> :lol:

WOOHOO! Congrats! That is SO exciting! I know because I had a few articles published in Secular Homeschooling Magazine and that first article was my very first published piece of writing, too. I only earned $15.00 for that article but it was the most exciting $15.00 I ever earned lol. Congrats again! :)

haha, well, yes, sometimes so do I. But that won't help my weight loss efforts much! :D Congrats on your weight loss so far! :)

Well I've heard that with "life's" instead of "hope's" but I guess it means generally the same thing. That just because you hope for something, doesn't mean it's going to happen. (Or life won't always go your way).

I don't allow "constant" snacking (or my kids wouldn't eat their meals) but they do get several snacks a day at generally set times and as much food as they want AT their meals. And since my kids are not picky eaters and generally eat pretty well, if they didn't like something or just weren't in the mood for something one day, I wouldn't force them to eat it, I would let them have a sandwich or something instead. They get to basically pick their own breakfasts, get a choice of a few lunch options, and so that would mainly be the case if they didn't like what I wanted to make for dinner.

a taco bar? pasta?

He's not quite five yet. He continued with: "I wish I could live at Uncle Matt's house. They have better food than us. They have Oreo cookies!" I'm feeling pretty good about my diet, but apparently my son isn't :lol: (And yes I do still buy them treats but I confess we don't keep as many in the house now that my husband and I are both dieting)!

My children's karate teacher? Who cares. It's not like it's my children's father or something. :lol:

OK well my gut reaction is that he's only three...not even four yet. He's very young. I would THINK that he probably just discovered that touching his privates feels nice and wanted to share this joy with someone else lol. Who happened to be his sister. I would not necessarily think this was a sign of molestation unless there are other signs pointing to something like that. Of course, it is not appropriate for him to do this- but it's also unreasonable to expect that at his age he would KNOW this. I don't think he should be punished for it- more talked to gently about issues of privacy and how no-one should touch your privates other than mommy/daddy/doctor kind of thing... and there are MANY books for preschoolers and toddlers along these lines if she is uncomfortable formulating the thoughts on her own (and even if she isn't, books can help reinforce both the normalcy and the appropriate behaviors pertaining to a young child's body). (It would also broach the issue of "you should tell if someone does something to you" so that if he really WERE being molested, that would occur to him. But I wouldn't jump to that conclusion so quickly!) Sitting the little boy on his bed as a punishment and leaving very upset is not really the best way to handle it, I don't think, she might be giving him a bad body image because her mind is going in a direction that HIS isn't, at his age. She needs to talk to him calmly, apologize for getting upset, and then explain why she got upset... all in a gentle way. ETA: Okay well I see by the previous responses that were given while I was typing this disagree... you guys have to go with your gut, of course! But I'd tread carefully with putting that kind of thought into his head in case it isn't the case... just talk to him and see how it goes/where it leads, I guess. Of course, I hope that isn't the case!! P.S. Interesting article here, you might want to check out: http://www.suite101.com/content/behaviors-in-preschoolers-that-are-related-to-sex-and-sexuality-a258746

A few weeks ago, my daughter was playing outside with some friends on the sidwalk out front, a few houses down the road. I tend to periodically go over to the front door and look out to check on them. On this particular occasion, I looked out the front door down the street, and saw one of the kid's balls go bouncing into the middle of the road. At the same time, I saw a minivan coming up the street toward the ball. The kids stood waiting for the minivan to pass so that one of them could run out and get the ball. Instead, the minivan stopped, and someone got out, grabbed the ball, threw it back to the kids, and then drove away. :) :) :)

I often read aloud to the kids while they eat breakfast. Sometimes I finish up things I want to finish up while they eat, though. I never eat with them as I don't get hungry for breakfast til much later in the morning (although sometimes on hubby's day off they will just have a morning snack so we can all eat a bigger breakfast together later).

My daughter, who turned 10 this month, has been told on two different occasions in recent months (once by neighborhood friends, once by kids in gymnastics class) that "you learn more in public school, you don't really learn anything being homeschooled!" I've heard no negative comments from adults though, they all usually have positive things to say, or at least neutral.

Wonderful! Happy anniversary, and congrats!! :)

Congrats!!! That's the hardest step, just getting motivated to get started, but you'll feel so much better about yourself once you do! It just so happens I have a "WW Shopping List" I'd saved to my computer years ago. Here it is! SHOPPING LIST I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray PAM cooking spray Fat Free Italian Dressing or lite salad dressings extra virgin olive oil Egg Beaters Lean Bacon Lite Mayo Rice Krispie Treats Slim A Bear Ice Cream Sandwiches FF or low fat string cheese Lite Pancake Syrup 1% or skim Milk Bottled Water Diet Soda Crystal Lite Reduced Sugar Oatmeal FF Waffles Special K Red Berry or other Breakfast Cereals Lite English Muffins Lite Bread Tuna Fish Turkey Breast 1 or 2% or ff Cheese slices Lettuce, tomato, baby carrots, celery sticks Fresh veggies like cauliflower, broccoli etc Canned veggies like green beans, carrots, spinach etc Fruit (bananas, grapes, etc) Special K strawberry snack bars Snackwells low carb snacks (cookies, chocolate bars etc.- yummy) FF Chips/Pringles/Pretzels/Saltines etc FF Hot Chocolate 100 Calorie Packs (cheese nips, choc. chip cookies, wheat thins, oreos etc) Chicken Shrimp, Fish Lite keilbasi Extra lean ground beef Low Carb or Wheat or Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta Kraft shredded f.f. mozzarella and cheddar cheeses FF pudding cups FF cool whip FF sugar free jello Smart Ones meals and desserts 94% FF high fiber microwave popcorn Splenda FF Vanilla stuff for coffee Healthy Choice or Progesso soups Lite Yogurt Oven Fries Reduced Fat Cottage Cheese FF Sour Cream Pickles FF Caramel Rice Cakes WW brand snack cakes (probably in the twinkie/devildog aisle lol)

At 4 1/2 I would not want to send my child to K. My daughter went to public school K right before turning 5- her birthday was ON the cutoff, which back then was October 1st, so she was THE youngest in her class (and still not quite as young as yours). I since wished I hadn't sent her that early. 1) She really DIDN'T have all of the maturity the kids a year older did and so she had a bit of a hard time with being stuck in front of a desk all.day.long, she was constantly losing some of the 15 meager minutes of recess they were allotted for talking too much, it was an academic K so they brought home homework on top of it all... they were long, boring days for her with WAY too little time for play, creating, imagining, being a kid, being outside, socializing, being with family and so on. That is such a valuable time of childhood and it's so fleeting that I was sorry I took it away from her so early. 2) I worried that when she got to be older, like middle school age- well, we've all heard the stories about what middle schools are like these days. And I had some really valid concerns about how the youngest girl in the class might react to things like peer pressure or how she'd handle conversations and things that came up- I thought maybe as one of the older ones instead of one of the youngest, maybe she'd be less likely to succumb to that kind of thing, I don't know. 3) What about at graduation? Did I really want her potentially taking off for college at like age 17? Wouldn't I worry about her more, miss her more, wish I'd had more time with her when that time came? I've since pulled her out of school (toward the end of third grade) and now we homeschool so some of these things are less relevant/less of a concern now, but if I had it all to do over again, I would never have put her into public school so young (or at all really, but if I was going to do it, I'd have waited that extra year. It was more important for her to be with her family than it was for her to sit at a desk day in and day out). As for my son, he's going to turn 5 in under two weeks, and he's being homeschooled right from the beginning, and while I started a K program with him just before turning 5, it's entirely different than what my daughter's public school K was like- it's not academic, it's very creative, gentle, hands on and so on, and takes under an hour a day. I love it, it seems to me more what Kindergarten SHOULD be like but isn't anymore.

I've done both at various times without giving either a second thought. I don't think either are "bad" etiquette. I really don't think it matters!

Alexa went to public school for K, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and most of 3rd grade. At the end of third grade (that March) I pulled her out of public school and began homeschooling. So I'm coming at this from the totally opposite viewpoint. I didn't like how academic school was in Kindergarten, how much deskwork they had, how she'd bring home homework even then, how long of a day it was. She was five and she was tired. The kids had "silent lunches," a mere 15 minutes of recess- which my daughter was constantly losing due to "talking too much" in the classroom- so they gave five year olds pretty much no social or play time. It was hard on her. In first grade, more of the same- losing recess as a punishment for talking too much. Desk work all day long. Homework. This teacher gave her an "F" in math one report card period not because she didn't know the work but because she missed some graded papers due to illness and vacation that the teacher refused to send home and couldn't find time to let her make up in class, and due to the fact that she had some incomplete papers because the kids were told to draw pictures to illustrate the problems, and my daughter liked to draw detailed pictures. In 2nd grade, school was a lot better- she had matured enough to not talk as much in class AND she had a very nice teacher, so she wasn't missing recesses anymore. But she still had long days at a desk, probably an hour or more of homework a night, very little time to just be a kid, play, get outside, explore her own interests, or have family time (and the family time we DID have was at the end of a long, tiring day when no-one was in their best mood or really able to enjoy each other... ...especially since I had to basically be "the enforcer," trying to make her do homework (the last thing she felt like doing at the end of such a long day), getting dinner ready, and ugh I hated how EVERYTHING seemed to revolve around the school and its schedules. "Do this, it's a school night, you can't do that, it's a school night, get up, it's a school day, hurry up, you have to make the bus, oh, I have to hurry up and make the PM bus, you have to do schoolwork, I have to sign this note, I have to make that conference, I have to shop for this, we have to do that, school, school, school"). Yuck. And having to "get permission" every time we wanted a family vacation, a sick day, a mid week field trip. Third grade- another VERY nice teacher...but big standardized testing year, so oh man the stress, the stomachaches, the tears, the I don't want to go to schools, the what if I fails, it was horrid. That was the year I finally said "Enough. There has to be something better. There has to be something more." And there was. There is! I've been happily homeschooling ever since (the rest of third grade, all of fourth, and now we're a couple months into 5th) and I've never looked back. I wish I had done it from the beginning with my daughter. I'm glad I'm doing it from the beginning with my son. We are more relaxed, less stress, we have more fun, a better relationship, we follow our interests more, my kids can be themselves and follow their interests more and use their imaginations more, there's more time for everything. They're in more activities, we do more outings, more hand on activities. We take advantage of doing things over the week instead of on the weekends. AND now I don't have to worry about the horrors I've heard about middle school and what goes on there- something I'm glad my daughter can avoid. We can teach a well rounded curriculum in whatever manner we want, instead of focusing on standardized testing. Speaking of which, every year I see the results of said testing in the local newspaper, showing how all the local school districts scored, and I want to add that mine consistently fails to even "meet state average." So they're not even doing an effective job, if we go by that! Homeschooling? I love it. I guess the "grass is always greener on the other side"- but that's what it looked like from my side, back then!

Thanks for stopping by to clarify, Deepa! :) It seems like a really great idea, I'm going to check it out with my 10 y/o daughter this week!

:lol::lol::lol:

In this particular case, I vote no. But I agree that a thank you note afterward would be appreciated!